A life well lived?
by Wormtail96
Summary: As she sits down in the Lincoln Sitting Room of the White House, President Coraline Jones reflects on her life and thinks of what could of been if she had not let her unslakable ambition control her.


**A life well lived?**

"Miss President, the cameramen are nearly finished setting up the oval office for your television address to the nation. They say they expect you within ten minutes." The tall and strongly built security guard in a black suit and shades stood in the open doorway of the Lincoln Sitting Room of the White House.

"Thank you, Mr. Johnson. That will be all."

Mr. Johnson saluted his leader and then closed the door of the small sitting room, now leaving the President to herself.

Coraline Jones sat down in her ornate armchair, smoking from a very thick cigar. She took it out of her mouth and blew a large stream of smoke out of her mouth and nose. Coraline was dressed up in a heavy dark blue greatcoat decorated with medals and pins over her blazer and skirt; the same Navy peaked cap she had owned since she was a child and a pair of black leather gloves and boots.

Coraline Jones had lived what many people would have considered to be an eventful and fulfilling life. Her diligent work ethic and ambition landed her in the Oregon State University where she graduated with a degree in law and a minor in Government and Politics. She moved to the Oregon state capital of Salem where she started of a normal lawyer and then later became a rich, famous and fiery district attorney, earning the nickname of 'Judicial Jones'.

But upon reaching the beginning of her forties, Coraline Jones decided she wanted more. Much more. So she decided to run for a political position that would gain her much more respect and admiration as a Republican candidate; Attorney General for the state of Oregon. Her startling reputation and uncanny ability to smear her opponent landed her the office with ease. The next eight years she built her reputation even further and rumours spread of her being a potential candidate to run for Governor once the new Governor's term expired. They were proven true as that was just what she did and she won by a paper-thin margin. The reason she just pinched the office was because of her one major fault; her performances in press conferences and most other forms of media. But luckily for her, her intelligence and appeal to the people made up for that flaw.

As governor, Coraline successfully put thousands of dollars into both big and small businesses; increased education funding, set higher standards for schools, and reformed the state's criminal justice system. She won her second term in a landslide in which she put forward stronger environmental and military policies than in her last term.

Then came the re-election of Democratic President Richard Gargil. Coraline was reaching the end of her second maximum term as governor and there was growing speculation that she was a potential candidate to go up against Gargil. Coraline had considered it many times; it would not be a difficult challenge to win as Gargil was not exactly the most popular President and the Republicans using a female candidate would be a great boom for the woman vote. The problem was the job itself. It was governing the entire country for God's sake! Finally, as the primaries in New Hampshire neared, Coraline thought 'Ah, what the Hell? I can't be any worse than George W Bush!"

Coraline made an excellent performance in the New Hampshire primaries and it was not long before she was officially announced the candidate to run against Gargil. During her campaign, Coraline's key issues were domestic matter, the environment and the tensions growing between the US and Russia after a nasty incident under Gargil's presidency. She chose the Governor of California as her running mate, securing that state for her campaign. But it would not have mattered anyway; the run for the White House was definitely under her control from the first few months. And in November, Coraline Jones made history in becoming the very first female President of the United States of America.

Coraline got to work immediately once she was inaugurated in January. She went to Russia with her Secretary of State to at best quell the tension there against America. It was a success of sorts and American-Russian relations turned from hostile to frosty. Coraline then put her domestic and military policies into action by putting forward an act to in a way "militarise the police forces". It was a gutsy move but it proved a success when polls showed that crime around the states had dropped significantly. Many claimed it was a violation of people's rights by having the military having such great affect in their everyday lives but in a press conference, Coraline claimed it to be "what was best for the nation" in her view. She next focused on the environment and energy by putting forward a policy for alternative energies that would be beneficial for the environment and hopefully lower gas prices in the long run. Coraline was at the peak of her popularity upon reaching the end of her first term of four years.

However, as the old saying goes, "what goes up, _must _come down". On the 15th May at 4:09 am of Coraline's fourth year something happened. Something horrible. In Miami, Florida a chain of powerful explosions were set off, resulting in the recorded loss of 104, 300 lives. Sources traced the cause of the explosions back to a group of terrorists within the country in an act against Coraline's rather unpopular and extreme military policy. Driven by fury at this new form of rebellion, Coraline ordered a military movement in all the suspected states from where the missing terrorists came from to keep them under tight security. A period of discord soon followed in the form of brief conflicts and protests in city streets.

Coraline's opinion polls dropped severely because of this and when it came to her re-election, the President would do anything to make sure she did not become a 'one-termer'. She unleashed vicious smear campaigns against all potential Democratic opponents (even going as far as having some of them removed from office and/or arrested for 'crimes' they had committed) and warped the media with pro-Republican and anti-Democratic propaganda. Coraline won the re-election with every single state in her grip, including those she had "oppressed" as it were with the military because of the 'Miami Massacre'. With that and her opinion polls declining by the month, it appeared to many that the election was…rigged.

President Coraline Jones brazened it out through the next eighteen months to the present day and over that time, matters for her administration had only gone further down hill. The conflicts within the targeted states grew out of control as rebellious journalists against Coraline's manipulation of the media leaked news to people of how bad things really were. Military soldiers were mowing down protestors in the streets with machine guns and even set brutish dogs out on them. That was not the worst of it as speculation of her re-election being rigged in her favour grew larger and larger. Citizens gathered outside the White House to protest for Coraline's impeachment, holding up picket signs and chanting slogans like _'IMPEACH THE BITCH!'_ and _'DON'T STEAL MY FREEDOM LIKE JONES STOLE THE ELECTION!'_ Even former President Gargil said the following about her: _"Coraline Jones is a no-good, war-mongering (expletive deleted)! She has gone from protecting her citizens from Russian aggression to mowing them down with bullets in the streets!"_

Inside the Lincoln Sitting Room, President Coraline Jones, now sixty-four years of age stood up from her armchair and took the thick cigar out of her mouth. She marched up and down the dark red rug in deep thought, while still holding the smoking cigar in her gloved hand. What kind of mess had she gotten herself into? It was one that could not be fixed since she was in too deep. Coraline was left with only one option and it was nearly underway. All she could do now was reflect on her life. But it was not her presidency nor her early political career she was thinking about; it was her childhood. Her childhood which she missed so much, including one person in particular…

"Wybie…" Coraline muttered sadly, rubbing her aching head. She had not seen the eccentric boy she had met when she was a child ever since she left for Oregon State University. She had no idea where he was and what happened to him. Coraline only remembered hearing about how Wybie was going to a local college to learn about business and that was it.

Although Coraline had too much pride to admit it in public, she did feel as if she actually…_missed _Wybie Lovat. As a young girl, Coraline could not deny she found him rather annoying but then again everyone had their own flaws. Why should Wybie have been any different?

Coraline did not know why she could not just forget Wybie ever existed and move on to find a man for herself. Maybe it was the memory of the strange boy that put her mind off of men. Or maybe it was simply because she liked Wybie and not in the ordinary friendly way. He was the only boy she really got to know during her childhood and maybe this made him appealing to her.

Who knows how different things would have been not just for her, but for the whole world if she and Wybie remained close. They might have gotten together and then even married if their relationship went that far. Coraline would have kept her job as a lawyer and then politician and Wybie whatever job he wanted. The two could have ended up with a child or two after settling down.

But it was too late for that now…_far _too late. Wherever Wybie was now Coraline only hoped he was happy. Maybe he had a successful career as a businessman and gotten himself married to a girl whom deserved him. But Coraline could not help but lay awake for a lot of nights and wonder what it was that prevented her and Wybie from being together. It was simple; her unslakable ambition. She always _wanted _more in life and now as she stood in the White House reminiscing, President Jones could see now that that desire had kept her from the things she really _needed _in life.

'_What an idiot I've been. I've thrown my whole life away for power and status.' _Coraline thought to herself bitterly. She was not married; she had no children and hardly had any living relatives left to at least talk to. What a lonely life.

_Knock Knock_

Coraline turned to the closed door as she flicked the cigar into a brass bin. "Come in."

The door to the Lincoln Sitting Room opened up and in came Mr. Johnson. "Miss President, ma'am, the oval office is now ready for your television announcement. They are ready for you now."

"Very good, Johnson." Coraline nodded and walked outside the sitting room as Mr. Johnson stood aside for her to move past him. Johnson then closed the sitting room door and followed after the President down the hallway. "You know something, Johnson?"

"What is it, Miss President?"

Coraline chuckled softly, rolling her heavy restless eyes, "After tomorrow, I don't think they'll ever elect a female President again."

"I don't think we'll ever know, ma'am."

The President shrugged and sighed tiredly, her head sunk low, "Well, all I can do now is hope Southall can finish off my last term with some success." She raised her head and looked up at the ceiling. "I tell you now, Johnson; when people think Obama or Reagan, they think of what they _want _to be." She lowered her head again and muttered with loathing of herself and so many others. "But…but when they think of me…they think of what they _are."_

After that night, all those protestors and citizens of Coraline's targeted states would rejoice and Republicans everywhere would lower there heads in shame. Only one President had ever done what she was going to do that night but Coraline knew it was for the best. The nation would heal up with time. The resignation of a top political figure was never taken easy.


End file.
